The present invention relates generally to the field of electronic mail systems, and more particularly to action assignment and tracking functionality for electronic mail systems.
Electronic mail, or email, systems provide a means for individuals to communicate quickly and efficiently, both in business settings and for personal use, regardless of geographic location. Individuals use email messages to keep in touch with and communicate with other users. Additionally, email messages provide a medium to collaborate and exchange documents. Email systems typically include limited functionality from a sender's point of view with regards to the status of a sent email. A sender can mark an email for “return receipt” which notifies the sender that a recipient has opened the email. In addition, a sender can flag an email as “urgent” when the sender needs a timely response from the recipient. If a recipient has enabled an “out of office” feature, a sender is notified that a recipient did not receive the sent email, informing the sender that an urgent message will not likely be acted upon with urgency.